The present invention relates to an apparatus for and a method of disinfecting containers, and to a method of disinfecting a packaging material for preparing the containers.
As disclosed, for example, in JP-A No. 63-11163, such an apparatus already known for disinfecting containers comprises a disinfection chamber surrounding a required section of a container transport path, partition means for forming inside the chamber an exposure zone positioned upstream with respect to the path and a drying zone downstream from the exposure zone, antiseptic supply means for supplying hydrogen peroxide gas to the exposure zone, and means for supplying hot air to the drying zone.
The apparatus described requires a large quantity of hot air for drying and removing the hydrogen peroxide adhering to containers with a stream of hot air. For this purpose, there is a need to retain the container within the drying zone for a predetermined period of time during transport, entailing a tendency for the drying zone to have an increased length. The packaging machine including the container disinfecting apparatus then becomes large-sized in its entirety to result in a higher cost.